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unhappycamper
unhappycamper's Journal
unhappycamper's Journal
June 21, 2014
This Feb. 11, 2002 file photo shows a revolving Enron Corp. logo spinning in the lobby of the energy company's downtown Houston headquarters. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy has revoked Arthur Andersen accountants Carl Bass and Thomas Bauer's CPA licenses for violating professional standards in their audits of Enron but the pair has pushed back with a legal challenge.
Energy-crisis restitution: $76.5M
By Morgan Lee
3:12 p.m.June 18, 2014
Customer relief continues to trickle in from California's 2000-2001 energy crisis, when market manipulation crippled the grid and sent utility bills through the roof.
A flurry of legal settlements will result in a $76.5 million credit against costs for San Diego Gas & Electric customers before the end of July, taking some pressure off rising electric rates in San Diego and southern Orange counties.
The discount for consumers won't be identified on bills.
The payments resolve claims against four power energy wholesalers accused of artificially driving up electricity prices: TransAlta, previously known as British Colombia Power Exchange; Powerex, a subsidiary of Canadian utility BC Hydro; Spokane, Wash.-based Avista; and Tulsa, Okl.-based Williams.
Energy-crisis restitution: $76.5M
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jun/18/energy-crisis-reparations/This Feb. 11, 2002 file photo shows a revolving Enron Corp. logo spinning in the lobby of the energy company's downtown Houston headquarters. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy has revoked Arthur Andersen accountants Carl Bass and Thomas Bauer's CPA licenses for violating professional standards in their audits of Enron but the pair has pushed back with a legal challenge.
Energy-crisis restitution: $76.5M
By Morgan Lee
3:12 p.m.June 18, 2014
Customer relief continues to trickle in from California's 2000-2001 energy crisis, when market manipulation crippled the grid and sent utility bills through the roof.
A flurry of legal settlements will result in a $76.5 million credit against costs for San Diego Gas & Electric customers before the end of July, taking some pressure off rising electric rates in San Diego and southern Orange counties.
The discount for consumers won't be identified on bills.
The payments resolve claims against four power energy wholesalers accused of artificially driving up electricity prices: TransAlta, previously known as British Colombia Power Exchange; Powerex, a subsidiary of Canadian utility BC Hydro; Spokane, Wash.-based Avista; and Tulsa, Okl.-based Williams.
June 21, 2014
Gov't moves to ban drones in 400 national parks
Associated Press Updated: June 20, 2014 at 4:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service is taking steps to ban drones from 84 million acres of public lands and waterways, saying the unmanned aircraft annoy visitors, harass wildlife and threaten safety.
Jonathan Jarvis, the park service's director, told The Associated Press he doesn't want drones flushing birds from their nests, hovering over rock climbers as they cling to the sides of cliffs or buzzing across the face of Mount Rushmore.
Jarvis said he would sign a policy memorandum on Friday directing superintendents of the service's 401 parks to write rules prohibiting the launching, landing or operation of unmanned aircraft in their parks.
Two large national parks, Grand Canyon in Arizona and Zion in Utah, have already changed their rules to ban drones. Some other parks have interpreted existing regulations to permit them to ban drone flights, but Jarvis said each park must change its "compendium" — a set of regulations unique to that park — if a ban is to be enforceable.
Gov't moves to ban drones in 400 national parks
http://gazette.com/govt-moves-to-ban-drones-in-400-national-parks/article/feed/130665Gov't moves to ban drones in 400 national parks
Associated Press Updated: June 20, 2014 at 4:46 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service is taking steps to ban drones from 84 million acres of public lands and waterways, saying the unmanned aircraft annoy visitors, harass wildlife and threaten safety.
Jonathan Jarvis, the park service's director, told The Associated Press he doesn't want drones flushing birds from their nests, hovering over rock climbers as they cling to the sides of cliffs or buzzing across the face of Mount Rushmore.
Jarvis said he would sign a policy memorandum on Friday directing superintendents of the service's 401 parks to write rules prohibiting the launching, landing or operation of unmanned aircraft in their parks.
Two large national parks, Grand Canyon in Arizona and Zion in Utah, have already changed their rules to ban drones. Some other parks have interpreted existing regulations to permit them to ban drone flights, but Jarvis said each park must change its "compendium" — a set of regulations unique to that park — if a ban is to be enforceable.
June 21, 2014
Report: Half of vets with PTSD got treatment
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press
June 20, 2014 Updated 19 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Only about half of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD last year after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan received the recommended therapy despite efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to beef up its mental health staffing, the Institute of Medicine said in a report released Friday.
About 53 percent of the veterans whose primary diagnosis was PTSD got at least eight psychotherapy sessions within a 14-week period in 2013. But that is significantly short of the department's target of 67 percent, according to the report.
The Institute of Medicine also found issues with the way active members of the military dealing with PTSD are treated. It described the Department of Defense's treatment programs as "ad hoc, incremental, and crisis-driven, with little planning devoted to the development of a long-range approach to obtaining desired outcomes."
Together, the two departments spent nearly $3.3 billion in 2012 to treat patients with PTSD. And while both are making strides to identify and treat people with PTSD, many obstacles remain before they will have an "integrated and higher-performing" system, the report said.
Report: Half of vets with PTSD got treatment
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/06/20/3253372/report-half-of-vets-with-ptsd.html?sp=/99/296/331/354/Report: Half of vets with PTSD got treatment
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press
June 20, 2014 Updated 19 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Only about half of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD last year after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan received the recommended therapy despite efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to beef up its mental health staffing, the Institute of Medicine said in a report released Friday.
About 53 percent of the veterans whose primary diagnosis was PTSD got at least eight psychotherapy sessions within a 14-week period in 2013. But that is significantly short of the department's target of 67 percent, according to the report.
The Institute of Medicine also found issues with the way active members of the military dealing with PTSD are treated. It described the Department of Defense's treatment programs as "ad hoc, incremental, and crisis-driven, with little planning devoted to the development of a long-range approach to obtaining desired outcomes."
Together, the two departments spent nearly $3.3 billion in 2012 to treat patients with PTSD. And while both are making strides to identify and treat people with PTSD, many obstacles remain before they will have an "integrated and higher-performing" system, the report said.
June 21, 2014
Army strips Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair of two ranks, reducing retirement benefits
Posted: Friday, June 20, 2014 11:54 am | Updated: 3:54 pm, Fri Jun 20, 2014.
By Drew Brooks Military editor
The Army has stripped former Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair of two ranks, which reduces his retirement benefits.
Sinclair will now be retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel, according to the Army.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced the decision today. It is the first time in a decade that the Army has demoted a general officer by two ranks.
Sinclair was convicted earlier this year after pleading guilty to adultery and 13 other violations of military law in exchange for the dismissal of charges that he sexually assaulted a female captain who served under his command.
Army strips Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair of two ranks, reducing retirement benefits
http://www.fayobserver.com/military/article_f55e6aa7-6bae-5c9b-a264-c095bf101bb7.htmlArmy strips Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair of two ranks, reducing retirement benefits
Posted: Friday, June 20, 2014 11:54 am | Updated: 3:54 pm, Fri Jun 20, 2014.
By Drew Brooks Military editor
The Army has stripped former Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair of two ranks, which reduces his retirement benefits.
Sinclair will now be retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel, according to the Army.
Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced the decision today. It is the first time in a decade that the Army has demoted a general officer by two ranks.
Sinclair was convicted earlier this year after pleading guilty to adultery and 13 other violations of military law in exchange for the dismissal of charges that he sexually assaulted a female captain who served under his command.
June 21, 2014
Reviving the Myth of the "Successful Surge"
by Robert Parry | June 20, 2014 - 8:59am
A beloved myth of Official Washington – especially among Republicans, neocons and other supporters of the Iraq War – is the fable of the “successful surge,” how President George W. Bush’s heroic escalation of 30,000 troops in 2007 supposedly “won” that war; it then follows that the current Iraq disaster must be President Barack Obama’s fault.
The appeal of this myth should be obvious. Nearly every “important” person in the U.S. foreign policy establishment and the mainstream media endorsed the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 — and such well-placed and well-paid people do not like to admit that their judgment was so bad that they should be disqualified from holding any responsible position forever.
Further, since almost no one who promoted this criminal and bloody enterprise was held accountable after Mission Accomplished wasn’t, these opinion leaders were still around in 2007 at the time of the “surge” and thus in a position to cite any positive trends as proof of “success.” Many are still around voicing their august opinions – the likes of Sen. John McCain, former Vice President Dick Cheney and neocon theorist Robert Kagan – so they still get to tell the rest of us how really great their judgment was.
On Wednesday, McCain fulminated from the Senate floor, accusing Obama of squandering the “surge,” the success of which he deemed a “fact.” Cheney – along with his daughter Liz – accused the President of “securing his legacy as the man who betrayed our past and squandered our freedom.”
Reviving the Myth of the "Successful Surge"
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-parry/56503/reviving-the-myth-of-the-successful-surgeReviving the Myth of the "Successful Surge"
by Robert Parry | June 20, 2014 - 8:59am
A beloved myth of Official Washington – especially among Republicans, neocons and other supporters of the Iraq War – is the fable of the “successful surge,” how President George W. Bush’s heroic escalation of 30,000 troops in 2007 supposedly “won” that war; it then follows that the current Iraq disaster must be President Barack Obama’s fault.
The appeal of this myth should be obvious. Nearly every “important” person in the U.S. foreign policy establishment and the mainstream media endorsed the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 — and such well-placed and well-paid people do not like to admit that their judgment was so bad that they should be disqualified from holding any responsible position forever.
Further, since almost no one who promoted this criminal and bloody enterprise was held accountable after Mission Accomplished wasn’t, these opinion leaders were still around in 2007 at the time of the “surge” and thus in a position to cite any positive trends as proof of “success.” Many are still around voicing their august opinions – the likes of Sen. John McCain, former Vice President Dick Cheney and neocon theorist Robert Kagan – so they still get to tell the rest of us how really great their judgment was.
On Wednesday, McCain fulminated from the Senate floor, accusing Obama of squandering the “surge,” the success of which he deemed a “fact.” Cheney – along with his daughter Liz – accused the President of “securing his legacy as the man who betrayed our past and squandered our freedom.”
June 21, 2014
Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn
Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY 2:35 p.m. EDT June 20, 2014
The Pentagon and VA are not ready for a potential flood of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder among troops and veterans, particularly from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, a panel of leading scientists report in a study released Friday.
"We are at the cusp of a wave of PTSD," says Sandro Galea, a physician, epidemiologist and professor at Columbia University who chaired the committee of 16 experts for the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
The committee, directed by Congress, spent four years producing a 300-page report on how the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs handle PTSD.
"We greatly appreciate and respect the extensive scientific review and insights of the Institute of Medicine committee," says Robert Jesse, the VA acting undersecretary for health. "We will address these recommendations."
Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/20/ptsd-va-pentagon-scientists-institute-medicine/10764991/Flood of PTSD cases coming, scientists warn
Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY 2:35 p.m. EDT June 20, 2014
The Pentagon and VA are not ready for a potential flood of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder among troops and veterans, particularly from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, a panel of leading scientists report in a study released Friday.
"We are at the cusp of a wave of PTSD," says Sandro Galea, a physician, epidemiologist and professor at Columbia University who chaired the committee of 16 experts for the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
The committee, directed by Congress, spent four years producing a 300-page report on how the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs handle PTSD.
"We greatly appreciate and respect the extensive scientific review and insights of the Institute of Medicine committee," says Robert Jesse, the VA acting undersecretary for health. "We will address these recommendations."
June 21, 2014
Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson speaks during a news conference at the VA Medical Center in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) release the results from its Nationwide Access Audit, along with facility level patient access data for all Veterans health facilities.
VA: 80 percent of senior executives got bonuses
9 hours ago • MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 80 percent of senior executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs got performance bonuses last year despite widespread treatment delays and preventable deaths at VA hospitals and clinics, a top official said Friday.
More than 350 VA executives were paid a total of $2.7 million in bonuses last year, said Gina Farrisee, assistant VA secretary for human resources and administration. That amount is down from about $3.4 million in bonuses paid in 2012, Farrisee said.
Farrisee defended the bonus system, telling the House Veterans Affairs Committee that the VA needs to pay bonuses to keep executives who are paid up to $181,000 per year.
"We are competing in tough labor markets for skilled personnel," Farrisee said. "To remain competitive in recruiting and retaining the best personnel to serve our veterans, we must rely on tools such as incentives and awards that recognize superior performance."
VA: 80 percent of senior executives got bonuses
http://siouxcityjournal.com/ap/washington/va-percent-of-senior-executives-got-bonuses/article_1adc7bea-84a0-53a0-8b94-0bd17cbb95f1.htmlActing Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson speaks during a news conference at the VA Medical Center in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) release the results from its Nationwide Access Audit, along with facility level patient access data for all Veterans health facilities.
VA: 80 percent of senior executives got bonuses
9 hours ago • MATTHEW DALY Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 80 percent of senior executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs got performance bonuses last year despite widespread treatment delays and preventable deaths at VA hospitals and clinics, a top official said Friday.
More than 350 VA executives were paid a total of $2.7 million in bonuses last year, said Gina Farrisee, assistant VA secretary for human resources and administration. That amount is down from about $3.4 million in bonuses paid in 2012, Farrisee said.
Farrisee defended the bonus system, telling the House Veterans Affairs Committee that the VA needs to pay bonuses to keep executives who are paid up to $181,000 per year.
"We are competing in tough labor markets for skilled personnel," Farrisee said. "To remain competitive in recruiting and retaining the best personnel to serve our veterans, we must rely on tools such as incentives and awards that recognize superior performance."
June 21, 2014
Fiji to Rich Carbon-Spewing Nations: History will Judge you for Sinking Us!
By contributors | Jun. 21, 2014
By Jon Queally
The interim prime minister of Fiji on Thursday condemned the international community for its continued failure to address the crisis of climate change, saying Pacific island nations like his have been left "to sink beneath the waves" as the planet warms and the oceans rise.
Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told those gathered at the Pacific Islands Development Forum on Thursday that ‘history will judge harshly’ those who fail to act as nations drown. Speaking as host at the opening session of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Fiji's interim prime minister Frank Bainimarama chastised world leadership across the world, saying "the collective will to adequately address the crisis is receding at a time when the very existence of some Pacific Island nations is threatened by rising sea levels."
Bainimarama said the very existence of numerous island nations – including Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands – are already experiencing the swamping of coastal areas, unprecedented storm surges, and other threats.
He also pointed a finger at major countries—including the U.S., Canada, China, and Australia—who contribute a disproportionate majority of the world's carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, saying, "History will judge you harshly if you abandon us to our apparent fate of sinking below the waves because you don't want to make the necessary adjustment to your domestic policies."
Fiji to Rich Carbon-Spewing Nations: History will Judge you for Sinking Us!
http://www.juancole.com/2014/06/spewing-nations-sinking.htmlFiji to Rich Carbon-Spewing Nations: History will Judge you for Sinking Us!
By contributors | Jun. 21, 2014
By Jon Queally
The interim prime minister of Fiji on Thursday condemned the international community for its continued failure to address the crisis of climate change, saying Pacific island nations like his have been left "to sink beneath the waves" as the planet warms and the oceans rise.
Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told those gathered at the Pacific Islands Development Forum on Thursday that ‘history will judge harshly’ those who fail to act as nations drown. Speaking as host at the opening session of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), Fiji's interim prime minister Frank Bainimarama chastised world leadership across the world, saying "the collective will to adequately address the crisis is receding at a time when the very existence of some Pacific Island nations is threatened by rising sea levels."
Bainimarama said the very existence of numerous island nations – including Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands – are already experiencing the swamping of coastal areas, unprecedented storm surges, and other threats.
He also pointed a finger at major countries—including the U.S., Canada, China, and Australia—who contribute a disproportionate majority of the world's carbon pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, saying, "History will judge you harshly if you abandon us to our apparent fate of sinking below the waves because you don't want to make the necessary adjustment to your domestic policies."
June 20, 2014
How America Is Bringing Peace and Democracy to the World
by Eric Zuesse | June 19, 2014 - 8:45am
We brought peace and democracy to Iraq by our invading and occupying it in order to get rid of Al Qaeda and “Saddam’s WMD” (that war cost the U.S. $3 trillion):
And we brought peace and democracy to Ukraine by our overthrowing their corrupt but democratically elected pro-Russian President and installing a corrupt regime that on May 2nd massacred hundreds of civilians who opposed the coup and thus caused a civil war that now has our people bombing the residents of southeastern Ukraine whom we call “terrorists” while terrorizing them, into hoped-for submission to the regime that we have imposed upon them (those people refused to vote in the election that we held for them):
And, shortly after Obama had become President, he and Hillary Clinton brought peace and democracy to Honduras by our being the only government in the Western Hemisphere to back the junta that overthrew that country’s democratically elected progressive President and by replacing him with a string of fascist ones producing the world’s highest murder-rate in that country:
We are being lied to, again and again, without our holding to account the people (George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the aristocrats who own and control our “news” media) who have lied to us, again and again.
How America Is Bringing Peace and Democracy to the World
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/eric-zuesse/56477/how-america-is-bringing-peace-and-democracy-to-the-worldHow America Is Bringing Peace and Democracy to the World
by Eric Zuesse | June 19, 2014 - 8:45am
We brought peace and democracy to Iraq by our invading and occupying it in order to get rid of Al Qaeda and “Saddam’s WMD” (that war cost the U.S. $3 trillion):
And we brought peace and democracy to Ukraine by our overthrowing their corrupt but democratically elected pro-Russian President and installing a corrupt regime that on May 2nd massacred hundreds of civilians who opposed the coup and thus caused a civil war that now has our people bombing the residents of southeastern Ukraine whom we call “terrorists” while terrorizing them, into hoped-for submission to the regime that we have imposed upon them (those people refused to vote in the election that we held for them):
And, shortly after Obama had become President, he and Hillary Clinton brought peace and democracy to Honduras by our being the only government in the Western Hemisphere to back the junta that overthrew that country’s democratically elected progressive President and by replacing him with a string of fascist ones producing the world’s highest murder-rate in that country:
We are being lied to, again and again, without our holding to account the people (George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the aristocrats who own and control our “news” media) who have lied to us, again and again.
June 20, 2014
Steve Scalise’s Network of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Stand To Gain
June 18, 2014
Posted at 3:23 pm by Lee Fang
Eric Cantor’s surprise defeat in the Republican primary, and subsequent decision to step down as Majority Leader, has set off a scramble within his party. Current Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is widely perceived as the next majority leader, while Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) and Steve Scalise (R-LA) are rounding up votes to take McCarthy’s place as whip.
Though there are negligible policy differences between the candidates, particularly on energy issues, one candidate is particularly close to the fossil fuel lobby: Steve Scalise, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of likeminded conservative members, who represents an area of the Gulf Coast with a large concentration of offshore oil jobs.
A number of former Scalise staffers are now employed as lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry. Megan Bel, Scalise’s former legislative director, now works for the National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group for offshore oil drilling companies. Stephen Bell, Scalise’s longtime spokesperson, joined the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association — a group that represents largely coal-fire power plants and has lobbied aggressively against the EPA’s new carbon rules — in April.
Scalise has cultivated political support from Koch Industries, the American Petroleum Institute, and Halliburton as part of the Republican Study Committee’s business outreach effort, according to a report in Politico. Notably, a Republican Study Committee outreach meeting with lobbyists occurred in the office of Shockey Scofield Solutions, Koch’s lobbying firm registered to defeat new carbon tax proposals.
Steve Scalise’s Network of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Stand To Gain
http://www.republicreport.org/2014/steve-scalise-lobbyists/Steve Scalise’s Network of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Stand To Gain
June 18, 2014
Posted at 3:23 pm by Lee Fang
Eric Cantor’s surprise defeat in the Republican primary, and subsequent decision to step down as Majority Leader, has set off a scramble within his party. Current Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is widely perceived as the next majority leader, while Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) and Steve Scalise (R-LA) are rounding up votes to take McCarthy’s place as whip.
Though there are negligible policy differences between the candidates, particularly on energy issues, one candidate is particularly close to the fossil fuel lobby: Steve Scalise, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of likeminded conservative members, who represents an area of the Gulf Coast with a large concentration of offshore oil jobs.
A number of former Scalise staffers are now employed as lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry. Megan Bel, Scalise’s former legislative director, now works for the National Ocean Industries Association, a trade group for offshore oil drilling companies. Stephen Bell, Scalise’s longtime spokesperson, joined the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association — a group that represents largely coal-fire power plants and has lobbied aggressively against the EPA’s new carbon rules — in April.
Scalise has cultivated political support from Koch Industries, the American Petroleum Institute, and Halliburton as part of the Republican Study Committee’s business outreach effort, according to a report in Politico. Notably, a Republican Study Committee outreach meeting with lobbyists occurred in the office of Shockey Scofield Solutions, Koch’s lobbying firm registered to defeat new carbon tax proposals.
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